Latest news with #WSLFootball
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WSL in advanced talks over historic deal for all players in top two tiers to join PFA
The Women's Super League is in advanced discussions with the Professional Footballers' Association over providing a funding deal that would enable all players in the top two divisions to join the union for the first time. Under the existing arrangements the PFA does not receive any financial backing for the women's game, with players in the WSL 2 – previously the Championship – unable to use its services, leaving many without access to healthcare and medical insurance despite being paid pro rata salaries far below the national minimum wage. Advertisement Related: Mary Earps stuns England teammates by retiring from international football Talks between WSL Football and the PFA are understood to have accelerated after Blackburn's decision this month to withdraw from WSL 2 – as first revealed by the Guardian – which has left their players feeling anxious and angry. The Guardian has been told many of them were paid as little as £11,000 a year by Blackburn as they were employed on part-time contracts with the PFA stepping in to provide financial assistance despite not having any formal obligation to do so. The PFA has approximately 250 female members, with some of the funding the union receives from the Premier League, English Football League and Football Association diverted to provide them with some basic services. Players in the WSL 2 have been ineligible to join the PFA, however, as the union lacks the resources to support them. WSL Football, the company responsible for running the top two tiers of the women's game, is understood to have reached an agreement in principle with the PFA to provide a funding package that is expected to be signed in the next few weeks. Both parties are confident that all WSL 2 players will be PFA members by the start of next season, the first in which all clubs in the top two divisions will be fully professional. Advertisement The Premier League pays around £25m a year to fund the PFA, which has more than 5,000 male members, and the WSL deal will be far smaller. However, as well as expanding the membership the PFA will use the money to offer female-specific services for the first time, particularly in areas such as rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, and medical research. Funding comprehensive union representation for players in both tiers was one of the key recommendations of the Raising the Bar Review, the government-commissioned independent review of women's football chaired by Karen Carney, which was published in 2023. The Carney Review also called for an improvement in the minimum standards criteria demanded by the WSL of all clubs in the top two divisions, including increased training time, the introduction of a minimum salary and the provision of a 'gold standard' in physical and mental health services to all players. WSL Football has moved to implement these higher minimum standards from next season, although the increased costs involved have proved too much for some clubs, with Blackburn deciding to withdraw from WSL 2. While a source at one WSL 2 club said the new standards 'are not particularly onerous', and most clubs at that level budget for losses of between £750,000 and £1m each year. Blackburn's owner, Venkys London Ltd, decided the cost was too high 12 months after Reading also withdrew from the second tier on financial grounds. Wolves also angered their players by not formally applying for promotion from the third tier. Advertisement Blackburn's departure leaves the WSL one club short for next season at the moment but the National League North side Burnley announced last week that they will be going fully professional next season and that they have applied to replace their Lancashire neighbours. Another option would be for the bottom club, Sheffield United, to be spared relegation despite winning only one Championship match last season. The club committed to staying full-time with fully professional players after relegation and plan to play all their home games at Bramall Lane regardless of which division they are in. While WSL Football will make recommendations the final decision rests with the FA Board, which in the past has opted to give clubs reprieves from relegation. Lewes were given the option to stay in the second tier following Reading's late withdrawal last summer, but had already released players and gone part-time following relegation so the Championship was reduced to 11 clubs. WSL Football and the PFA declined to comment.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
WSL in advanced talks over historic deal for all players in top two tiers to join PFA
The Women's Super League is in advanced discussions with the Professional Footballers' Association over providing a funding deal that would enable all players in the top two divisions to join the union for the first time. Under the existing arrangements the PFA does not receive any financial backing for the women's game, with players in the WSL 2 – previously the Championship – unable to use its services, leaving many without access to healthcare and medical insurance despite being paid pro rata salaries far below the national minimum wage. Talks between WSL Football and the PFA are understood to have accelerated after Blackburn's decision this month to withdraw from WSL 2 – as first revealed by the Guardian – which has left their players feeling anxious and angry. The Guardian has been told many of them were paid as little as £11,000 a year by Blackburn as they were employed on part-time contracts with the PFA stepping in to provide financial assistance despite not having any formal obligation to do so. The PFA has approximately 250 female members, with some of the funding the union receives from the Premier League, English Football League and Football Association diverted to provide them with some basic services. Players in the WSL 2 have been ineligible to join the PFA, however, as the union lacks the resources to support them. WSL Football, the company responsible for running the top two tiers of the women's game, is understood to have reached an agreement in principle with the PFA to provide a funding package that is expected to be signed in the next few weeks. Both parties are confident that all WSL 2 players will be PFA members by the start of next season, the first in which all clubs in the top two divisions will be fully professional. The Premier League pays around £25m a year to fund the PFA, which has more than 5,000 male members, and the WSL deal will be far smaller. However, as well as expanding the membership the PFA will use the money to offer female-specific services for the first time, particularly in areas such as rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, and medical research. Funding comprehensive union representation for players in both tiers was one of the key recommendations of the Raising the Bar Review, the government-commissioned independent review of women's football chaired by Karen Carney, which was published in 2023. The Carney Review also called for an improvement in the minimum standards criteria demanded by the WSL of all clubs in the top two divisions, including increased training time, the introduction of a minimum salary and the provision of a 'gold standard' in physical and mental health services to all players. WSL Football has moved to implement these higher minimum standards from next season, although the increased costs involved have proved too much for some clubs, with Blackburn deciding to withdraw from WSL 2. While a source at one WSL 2 club said the new standards 'are not particularly onerous', and most clubs at that level budget for losses of between £750,000 and £1m each year. Blackburn's owner, Venkys London Ltd, decided the cost was too high 12 months after Reading also withdrew from the second tier on financial grounds. Wolves also angered their players by not formally applying for promotion from the third tier. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion Blackburn's departure leaves the WSL one club short for next season at the moment but the National League North side Burnley announced last week that they will be going fully professional next season and that they have applied to replace their Lancashire neighbours. Another option would be for the bottom club, Sheffield United, to be spared relegation despite winning only one Championship match last season. The club committed to staying full-time with fully professional players after relegation and plan to play all their home games at Bramall Lane regardless of which division they are in. While WSL Football will make recommendations the final decision rests with the FA Board, which in the past has opted to give clubs reprieves from relegation. Lewes were given the option to stay in the second tier following Reading's late withdrawal last summer, but had already released players and gone part-time following relegation so the Championship was reduced to 11 clubs. WSL Football and the PFA declined to comment.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blackburn forced to withdraw from WSL 2 on ‘sad day for women's football'
Blackburn Rovers have confirmed their withdrawal from the WSL 2 and will re-enter at least two tiers below, with the owners unwilling to provide the funding to meet the division's new minimum licence requirement. Players and staff were told on Tuesday afternoon of the decision. The Guardian revealed last week that the club were considering dropping out of the second tier and that the players had been left anxious, angry and feeling as if they were in a state of limbo awaiting a formal decision. Related: The sad demise of Fortuna Sittard Women: 'I hope the players find new clubs' It is understood that WSL Football, the governing body of the WSL and WSL 2, is working with the Professional Footballers' Association and Sporting Chance to support players and staff. In a statement posted on the club's website, Rovers said the decision had come after a 'comprehensive review of the evolving demands placed on second-tier clubs, which have become unsustainable under our current model'. The intention is still for the WSL 2 to operate with 12 teams next season, although any club joining the league will be required to meet the minimum standards. They are viewed as vital to the further professionalisation of the game as they protect the welfare of all participants and maintain competition integrity. Nikki Doucet, the WSL Football chief executive, said: 'This is a sad day for women's football and our hearts go out to the players, staff and fans at Blackburn Rovers FC Women affected by this decision to withdraw from the Women's Super League 2. We have been working with the club all season to prevent this outcome and we are disappointed it has come to this.' Operating on what was understood to be a comparatively low playing budget, Rovers finished 10th last season, second from bottom, in the women's second tier this term, five points clear of danger. The minimum requirements to take part in the renamed division (it was called the Championship in 2024-25) are being increased this summer in a bid to raise minimum standards for the players involved, with WSL 2 sides expected to essentially operate full‑time, professional teams. The list of criteria is believed to include requirements for clubs to commit to appointing a head of women's football, marketing manager, head coach, assistant coach, physiotherapist or sports therapist, doctor, a strength and conditioning coach, a goalkeeping coach and several people in specific safeguarding and player-welfare roles within one month of the new season kicking off. WSL Football said in a statement: 'In line with recommendations for the long-term future of women's football, every club is asked to comply with the minimum standards as part of their membership of the leagues and a compliance and development review is carried out as standard ahead of each season and monitored throughout.' Rovers said: 'The growing financial and operational constraints tied to Tier 2 status, including the requirement to move to a fully-professional model, have reached a point where they can no longer be sustained under the club's current financial framework. 'Key factors influencing this decision include the significant rise in minimum criteria set by the league, including extended contact hours for players and the requirement for a full-time professional contract model, an increase in staffing levels, leading to further escalating wage costs, and a greater strain on training ground and stadium facilities.' The club partly blamed the lack of a 'noticeable upturn in home attendances', despite playing all their league games at Ewood Park last season, and the lack of matchday commercial revenues and sponsorship as a result. Where Blackburn Rovers re-enter the pyramid is yet to be determined. An FA spokesperson said: 'We are in ongoing discussions with Blackburn regarding what level of the women's football pyramid they can enter for next season, and a decision will be confirmed in due course.'
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
WSL rebrand 'one step on the journey', but what next?
New branding and renaming the Championship to Women's Super League 2 was announced this month as WSL Football - the company that oversees the top two tiers of women's football in England - seeks to "grow the women's game for the future".It is the first major change WSL Football - formerly known as Women's Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) - has made since it assumed control of the top two tiers from the Football Association in August Doucet, CEO of WSL Football, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast: "The mission is to build the most distinctive, competitive, and entertaining women's football club competitions in the world."But there was backlash on social media over the changes, with fans questioning the decision to revert back to naming the second tier WSL 2 and also calling for focus on more direct investment into the game than response, Doucet said fans are asking "all the right questions" and that the rebrand is "only one step on the journey to further raise the game".Asked why they have reverted to the old name of the second tier, Doucet added: "It means we're investing more in that league [WSL 2] and we're allowing it to have more visibility, under a unified umbrella." If the rebrand is the start, what next? For Doucet, the new era for women's professional football in England goes far beyond the having a "dedicated team of experts" whose job it is to grow the game, she said WSL Football will be able to deliver the innovation needed to talked about scheduling times, a consistent women's football TV slot and ease for away had been criticism over some fixture scheduling not being conducive to attracting fans - namely Sunday 18:45 kick-offs - and while Doucet agreed that particular slot is not family friendly, she also said there is not currently a "natural broadcast slot" for WSL games. It is not just the broadcast partners that WSL Football must come to an agreement on kick-off times with. As most WSL teams do not have their own stadium, they are often tasked with scheduling around men's fixtures as Doucet described women's football as existing within a "complex ecosystem," Chelsea moved their final home Premier League game of the season to ensure their supporters could also attend Chelsea's Women's FA Cup final last week. Doucet discussed plans to launch a new website which will provide a "one stop shop for women's football", as well as announcing that every WSL 2 game will be shown live on the WSL YouTube channel, with "upped production" paid for by the league. How engaged are supporters already? Interest in the domestic game piqued after England's Euro 2022 England beat Germany at Wembley, Gabby Logan signed off from presenting the BBC One coverage by calling on viewers to "get yourself to a WSL game this season".And in numbers, the fans WSL club saw increased attendances on the back of the Lionesses claiming their first major home to high-profile Lionesses drew the biggest crowds, with Arsenal attracting the most of any club and setting a new WSL attendance record of 47,367 in their first home game at Emirates Stadium Gunners have gone on to break the WSL attendance record another three times, but despite playing two more games in the 2024-25 campaign at the Emirates their average attendance was lower than the previous four WSL teams also saw the spike in attendances tail off in 2024-25 , with Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester City and Manchester United all seeing lower average crowds. Everton announced last week that their women's side are to make the 39,572 capacity Goodison Park their new comes after a season where Everton's average home crowd at Walton Hall Park was 1,956, with almost half of those games drawing in crowds of less than 1,000 club is working through plans to reduce the capacity of the stadium before the women's team move Villa and Leicester City are the only current WSL sides who play all of their fixtures at their club's main stadium. Leicester have narrowly increased their average attendance from last season but are still in decline since 2022-23, while Aston Villa's average attendance has fallen this season, despite playing six more games at Villa Park than the season before. Clearly more needs to be done to attract crowds to women's football at bigger says it is not just independent women's clubs, such as the newly promoted London City Lionesses, who need support in attracting crowds but Premier League clubs too, as they have "probably not had to have a ticketing strategy before" because their grounds are usually sold out."How do you sell tickets to a fanbase that you've never had to talk to before?" she adds."You look at our total attendance across both leagues, it's up year over year and continues to grow."Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian has bought an 8-10% share in Chelsea, believed to be worth around £ the back of his comments that the WSL champions will become a "billion-dollar franchise", Doucet discussed the variation in investment being made by different clubs."I think there's some teams and some owners who have been innovators and have invested ahead of the curve and they're seeing the benefits today," she 2025-26 WSL campaign kicks off across the weekend of 6-7 September and Doucet believes that the Lionesses' defence of their European title this summer would provide another key juncture for growth in the sport."Hopefully England have an amazing tournament," she said."I think we're more ready to capitalise on a successful Euros than we were even the first time. So if you imagine what that did after a home Euros, I think we're in an even better position this time. " Head here to get involved
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blackburn forced to withdraw from WSL 2 on ‘sad day for women's football'
Blackburn Rovers have confirmed their withdrawal from the WSL 2 and will re-enter at least two tiers below, with the owners unwilling to provide the funding to meet the division's new minimum licence requirement. Players and staff were told on Tuesday afternoon of the decision. The Guardian revealed last week that the club were considering dropping out of the second tier and that the players had been left anxious, angry and feeling as if they were in a state of limbo awaiting a formal decision. Advertisement Related: The sad demise of Fortuna Sittard Women: 'I hope the players find new clubs' It is understood that WSL Football, the governing body of the WSL and WSL 2, is working with the Professional Footballers' Association and Sporting Chance to support players and staff. In a statement posted on the club's website, Rovers said the decision had come after a 'comprehensive review of the evolving demands placed on second-tier clubs, which have become unsustainable under our current model'. The intention is still for the WSL 2 to operate with 12 teams next season, although any club joining the league will be required to meet the minimum standards. They are viewed as vital to the further professionalisation of the game as they protect the welfare of all participants and maintain competition integrity. Advertisement Nikki Doucet, the WSL Football chief executive, said: 'This is a sad day for women's football and our hearts go out to the players, staff and fans at Blackburn Rovers FC Women affected by this decision to withdraw from the Women's Super League 2. We have been working with the club all season to prevent this outcome and we are disappointed it has come to this.' Operating on what was understood to be a comparatively low playing budget, Rovers finished 10th last season, second from bottom, in the women's second tier this term, five points clear of danger. The minimum requirements to take part in the renamed division (it was called the Championship in 2024-25) are being increased this summer in a bid to raise minimum standards for the players involved, with WSL 2 sides expected to essentially operate full‑time, professional teams. The list of criteria is believed to include requirements for clubs to commit to appointing a head of women's football, marketing manager, head coach, assistant coach, physiotherapist or sports therapist, doctor, a strength and conditioning coach, a goalkeeping coach and several people in specific safeguarding and player-welfare roles within one month of the new season kicking off. Advertisement WSL Football said in a statement: 'In line with recommendations for the long-term future of women's football, every club is asked to comply with the minimum standards as part of their membership of the leagues and a compliance and development review is carried out as standard ahead of each season and monitored throughout.' Rovers said: 'The growing financial and operational constraints tied to Tier 2 status, including the requirement to move to a fully-professional model, have reached a point where they can no longer be sustained under the club's current financial framework. 'Key factors influencing this decision include the significant rise in minimum criteria set by the league, including extended contact hours for players and the requirement for a full-time professional contract model, an increase in staffing levels, leading to further escalating wage costs, and a greater strain on training ground and stadium facilities.' The club partly blamed the lack of a 'noticeable upturn in home attendances', despite playing all their league games at Ewood Park last season, and the lack of matchday commercial revenues and sponsorship as a result. Where Blackburn Rovers re-enter the pyramid is yet to be determined. An FA spokesperson said: 'We are in ongoing discussions with Blackburn regarding what level of the women's football pyramid they can enter for next season, and a decision will be confirmed in due course.'
